Fallen Angel
by DarkAngel19881
Summary: Instead of Naruto housing the nine tailed demon, what if he has a different power, one that has gotten him kicked out of the village he is from because of this power he is forced to live in the forest and only go out at night. One day he is spotted and taken to the leaf village. Can Naruto find the acceptance that he so longs for. Is he strong enough to protect the village?
1. Chapter 1

Fallen Angel

Chapter one

Naruto Uzimaki sat silently on top of the stone Hokage monument, watching the village below him. He sighed as he stretched his wings out, feeling the wind gently ruffling his feathers. You see Naruto had been born different from other children, he'd been born with angel wings. They were as small as Naruto was but as he grew so did they. They now stretched out a good five feet, and Naruto figured they would grow even more since he was done growing yet.

He loved the village below him, they had given him a home when he'd had no other place to go. But Naruto was starting to wonder where he had come from, were there others like him. Surely there were, he couldn't be the only one who had wings like his. For his first five years, Naruto had grown up in an orphanage in the Land of Sound. He had never known who his parents were, or what they even looked like. He never understood that his wings were different and when he showed them to another child, he was called a freak of nature and from that moment on, every child had avoided him. Well, until they had started beating up on him, and then he'd been kicked out of the orphanage because they couldn't afford to keep freaks there.

Unable to find someone to take him in in the sound, he left his village. Flying at night whenever he didn't think anyone could see him. When he got tired he would make a fire and curl his wings around himself and go to sleep. Having the freedom to fly whenever he wanted was okay at first but then loneliness and longing for a family would kick in and Naruto would stare forlornly at the small fire until the tears came and he would cry himself to sleep.

He ended up spending months out in the wilderness by himself until one day when he was flying. He heard shouting and he looked down and saw someone on the ground raise a bow and arrow. Knowing their intentions were to kill him, Naruto tried to fly higher but the bow had went straight through his wing. The pain causing Naruto to cry out, as he started his descent from the sky. He curled his wings around himself hoping to absorb some of the impact as he slammed into the ground. He cried out as he felt bones break despite the protection his wings had provided. He felt blood drip down his feathers and he wanted to weep, he didn't understand why people couldn't just leave him be, he never bothered anyone.

As he lay on the ground whimpering in pain, Naruto heard the sound of voices coming his way. He had the feeling they wouldn't be coming to help him, so he slowly pulled himself to his feet and started limping away hoping to find a bush or something to hide under until they went away. Naruto tucked his uninjured wing away, whimpering as the wing slowly disappeared into his back, leaving no sign that any kind of feather had been there. His injured wing hung limply at his side as he was unable to reach the arrow that had pierced the thin membrane and had stuck. Naruto could feel the blood drip down his feathers and he wanted nothing more than to clean the blood off. wrapping the injured wing around himself Naruto sat down at the base of a tree that was hidden out of sight.

Leaning his head back against the tree Naruto wondered if he would ever find a place he would fit in. would he always be on the outside looking in, always longing for affection and never getting any? The truth was Naruto wasn't sure he could keep on the way he was, someone would hunt him down and kill him eventually. What kind of five year had those kind of thoughts Naruto wondered bitterly, what kind of five year old was forced to look after himself. Forced to live a life no one deserved to live, Naruto felt older than his years.

He had just started to drift off to sleep, when the sound of footsteps and voices woke him up. Opening his eyes, he was startled to see a silver haired masked ninja kneeling beside him. Naruto jerked when the man reached out touched the wing, Naruto tightened it around himself more. Unsure of what this man's intentions were.

"You're hurt" the man spoke softly, almost as if trying not to scare him. Naruto still wasn't sure he could be trusted, how many times had someone tried to gain his trust before turning around and hurting him.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you." the man said "I just want to help you."

"Why?" Naruto croaked, the obvious kindness in the man's uncovered eye making him want to cry.

"No one has ever wanted to help me" Naruto whimpered softly "I'm a freak so I don't deserve help."

"You're not a freak" the man said as he reached out and gently plucked the arrow from Naruto's wing. Naruto yelped in pain at the sudden burst of agony. Once the arrow was out, Naruto stretched out the wing before attempting to fold it back into his body.

Suddenly Naruto found himself being carried away from the tree, and Naruto struggled against the arms that held him.

"Hush" the man says softly "I'm taking you back to my village, they can help you there."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked curiously, wondering why he got the feeling that he could trust this man with the strange hair.

"I am Kakashi Hatake" Kakashi replied "and I am a ninja of the leaf village. Where do you come from."

"I came from the Sound village but I haven't lived there for a little while now." Naruto replies, still feeling afraid of the situation at hand. No one had ever offered him a home, and now it looked like there was a chance he was going to get one.

"Do you think people will think I am a freak?" Naruto asks.

"I'm sure some will, but I can assure you I don't think you are. You are special and that's not a bad thing."

"Will people try to hurt me?" Naruto voiced his biggest concern. He had lived through enough hurt for a lifetime. He wasn't to stay in a place that only offered more pain.

"I can promise you they won't when I'm around." Kakashi replied, wondering if he was doing the right thing after all this child could be a spy. Kakashi quickly dismissed that thought, there was an innocence about this child that told him he was no spy.

"The first thing I'm going to do is take you to the doctor, you have injuries that need to be looked at and then, I'm taking you to a place where you can get some rest."

That was seven years ago, Naruto had had a hard time adjusting at first, but eventually he felt comfortable with the people around him. Of course he'd quickly made an enemy, Sasuke Uchiha, who had quickly discovered that Naruto had hidden wings. The two boys had gotten into an argument that had quickly escalated to a fight, Naruto had hit Sasuke first and the two had gone at it for several minutes, before Kakashi had broken them up. Having his guardian tell Naruto he couldn't start fights just because they had discovered his secret and spread it around Konoha had been no excuse to start a fight. Naruto hadn't stuck around to hear the words Kakashi had spoken to Sasuke instead, he had run away and had flown up to the Hokage monument where he now sat. feeling hurt Naruto wondered how it was that Kakashi could just sit there and defend Sasuke while berating Naruto for feeling like a freak because Sasuke had shouted his secret to the village.

"_Naruto, I saw you last night" Sasuke comes over to where Naruto is sitting at the base of a tree right outside of the academy. _

"_So, I'm sure a lot of people did, its not all that uncommon to run into someone you to go school with outside of school. I don't live here you know." Naruto replied but he had grown cold, he had the feeling he knew exactly what Sasuke was talking about._

_ "You're a winged freak" Sasuke shouted causing heads to turn and look at him. Naruto felt his face warm and he looked down. He couldn't help who he was anymore than Sasuke could help being an orphan with an insane brother. _

_ "I'm not a freak" Naruto said as calmly as he could. He didn't want to upset Kakashi by getting into a fight. But make no mistake if Sasuke persisted, he would shut his mouth for him. _

_ "Only freaks have wings and can fly" Sasuke insists getting into Naruto's face. _

_ "Last time I am telling you, I am not a freak and if you don't shut up, I will make you shut up." Naruto hissed the warning in his tone clear. Sasuke smirked and looked down at Naruto._

_ "I don't think you're going to do anything, you're too much of a chicken." he taunted and Naruto closed his eyes for a second before opening them and taking throwing a fist right into Sasuke's jaw. _

_ Sasuke grinning before tackling Naruto and slamming his fist into Naruto's face over and over. Naruto just kept throwing punches even though he was missing most of them. _

_ "Naruto, that's enough" the voice of his guardian calls out as Kakashi pulls Sasuke off of him. "You know better than to fight and at school no less."_

_ "He started..."Naruto started but shut up when Kakashi shot him a look. He looked down at the ground, Kakashi was right of course, even if he hadn't started the fight, he shouldn't have tried to finish it, at least not at school. _

_ "Sasuke, now is not the time to practice your skills." Kakashi said as Iruka came up and stood beside Kakashi. Naruto figured he had called Kakashi as soon as he had seen the two of them fighting. _

_ "Naruto you need to apologize for hitting Sasuke." Kakashi said. Naruto stared at him in shock, he wasn't apologizing for something he didn't start. _

_ "No," Naruto told him "Sasuke started it and I'm not going to apologize for defending myself. I shouldn't have too."_

_ "if you don't want to be grounded then I suggest you apologize now." Kakashi said firmly._

_ "I guess it's time for me to move on then" Naruto said "I don't have to keep getting treated like I'm a freak."_

_ "You're treated like a freak because you are a freak" Sasuke laughed causing Naruto to turn and glare at him._

_ "You're not going to apologize?" Kakashi asked and Naruto shook his head. There was no reason too, it wasn't like Sasuke was going to apologize either, and Naruto was sure that Kakashi wasn't going to make him apologize. _

_ "No extra ninja lessons for two weeks or until you apologize to Sasuke." Kakashi said and Naruto rolled his eyes, and Kakashi catching it glared at him. _

_ "Do you want to make it a month?" Kakashi asked. _

_ "Do you want me to find another place to live" Naruto countered. _

_ "You're starting to make me angry, Naruto it's not that hard to apologize." Kakashi growled. _

_ "I'm not apologizing for something I didn't start." Naruto said "and if you want to punish me for that fine, I don't care."_

_ "You're going to care when you're staying at home instead of getting extra training." Kakashi said._

_ "Why is it that when I find something I enjoy, someone always takes it away. It's not fair, you of all people know better, you were the one that found me after all." _

_ "So you are a freak and an orphan" Sasuke muttered. Naruto glared at him, his anger starting to rise. He couldn't believe he was supposed to apologize to Sasuke but Sasuke was the one that had started it. He should be the one saying he was sorry. Turning and glaring at Kakashi, Naruto turned and fled down the street running as fast as he could. He didn't want to be somewhere that he wasn't wanted. Upon seeing the Hokage monument, Naruto pulled his wings from their hiding place, before spreading them and flying up to the top of the mountain. Sitting down, Naruto threw his legs over the side. He sat on the side of the mountain until the sun went down and he started getting chilled from the dark. He wasn't ready to go home yet and face Kakashi, he was sure he would be in even more trouble for running away._

As he stared out at the village, Naruto wondered if he would ever find a place he truly belonged. It didn't seem like it, the loneliness ate at him on a daily basis. He never really done anything to make friends, he wasn't really sure how he was supposed to do that. He would stay in and read and study Kakashi's scrolls, and at night, at Naruto would finally stretch his wings and fly. Kakashi had told him not to go flying during the day, but since Sasuke had blared out his secret, Naruto figured it didn't matter much anymore. The village knew he was a freak. Nothing was going to change their opinions of him, no matter how much he tried or how hard he worked. He would just have to find another place to live, he couldn't stay in this village much longer.

"There you are Naruto" his teachers kind voice said from behind him, Naruto turned to see Iruka approaching him. Iruka was the second person Naruto had met when he'd first entered the village. He was a good friend of Kakashi's and had quickly become someone who Naruto could talk to when Kakashi was unavailable. "I hope you're not thinking of leaving. Kakashi and I would miss you."

"Everyone knows I'm a freak now, so why stay. We all know that freaks are not welcome." Naruto told Iruka.

"I don't know who convinced you that you are a freak but that's just not true" Iruka said as he looked at Naruto's wings. "You're special and different and that's not a bad thing, it means you have a different kind of responsibility than we do. Don't let what some idiot tells you get you down. Sasuke is alone and unless a miracle happens that's the way things are going to stay. He's jealous of you plain and simple, don't let him get to you. Maybe he's the way he is because he wants to be your friend, he just doesn't know how to go about it."

Naruto snorted before replying.

"He sure has a funny way of showing it," Naruto mutters before stretching his wings. He truly loved this village he loved his ninja training and he didn't want to leave. He just didn't like Sasuke Uchiha.

"Some people have trouble making friends" Iruka smiled as he reached and touched the feathers on Naruto's wings.

"Do you think there are others like me out there?" Naruto asks the question that had been burning on his mind more and more lately.

"There could be" Iruka admitted knowing that eventually Naruto was going to leave to find out the answers he so desperately needed to know. "There is only one way to find out the answer to that question and that's to go look for them."

"I don't really want to leave, this village has become my home." Naruto sighs "I don't know what to do."

"Home is not just a place, home is the people you surround yourself with. People that will wait for your return no matter how long it is." Iruka said watching as Naruto folded his wings back into each other.

"I'm glad I met you" Naruto said softly knowing that Iruka was right, if he wanted answers to his questions he was going to have to go out and search for them. After his ninja training of course, nothing was going to stop him from training, not even Sasuke Uchiha.

**TBC? Or is it too weird? Thanks for reading and reviewing. Liz P.S. I have the next chapter already written if you want more let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

Fallen Angel

Chapter 2

Naruto remained sitting at the top of the mountain long after Iruka had left. Iruka had claimed that Kakashi was worried about him, but how true could that be. Kakashi hadn't bothered to come to the one place that he knew Naruto would go.

Sighing, he knew he should head home, but he wasn't quite ready to face Kakashi yet. He still didn't understand why he had to apologize to Sasuke for that fight. He wasn't the one that had started it, he just wanted to finish it. Kakashi hadn't even said anything when Sasuke had been putting him down for being a freak and an orphan. Naruto figured he was probably supposed to apologize for that too, but he wasn't going to. It wasn't his place, if Kakashi could open his eyes and take a deeper look he would see that Naruto wasn't the one causing problems. But it would seem that the old man was blind as a bat.

"Am I ever going to be accepted?" Naruto wondered out loud as he looked up at the stars. "Am I always going to feel like a freak and be on the outside looking in." the loneliness that Naruto had felt had never felt as bad as it did while he was sitting there. He was just wanted to make friends and be happy, and feel like he was apart of something. Sighing, Naruto lay back on the stone and closed his eyes. He would stay here just a little longer, then maybe Kakashi would be calm enough for Naruto to speak to.

_"Naruto Uzimaki, we are coming for you" a low cold voice hissed "and when we do you are going to pay for your sins, you're going to pay for your being a freak." the snake looking man hisses as he brings a knife to Naruto's throat. "you're going to die and your blood be spread amongst the village you so love, __and then I am going to destroy the village."_

Naruto's eyes shot up and he sat up quickly. He didn't exactly understand the entire dream but one thing was certain, someone was coming after him. Glancing around him, Naruto noticed the sun was starting to rise, and a feeling of dread overcame him. Kakashi wasn't going to be happy that he'd run away and stayed out all night. Kakashi wasn't like some of the people he had stayed with, he wouldn't beat him for staying gone. But he wouldn't be happy, he would likely not let Naruto participate in extra training, not that he would be doing that for two weeks anyways but still.

Naruto jumped to his feet, spread his wings and not caring if anyone saw him flew to Kakashi's apartment. Landing on the balcony, Naruto tucked his wings away and then climbed through the open window. He wasn't surprised to see Kakashi sitting at the table, almost as if he was waiting for him to show up.

"Nice of you to finally join me." he commented

"I'm sorry" Naruto murmured "I didn't mean to stay out all night, I fell asleep on the Hokage monument."  
"I don't know if you can stay here, the Hokage has given me orders to find you another place to live." Naruto's blood froze, and he thought not again, I'm not losing my home again.

"I'm sorry" Naruto said with tears in his eyes, he didn't want to lose this home. Kakashi was a different kind of guardian but Naruto loved him nonetheless. He had taken care of Naruto for the past seven years, he'd been the only one to care about Naruto. Iruka had come to mean something to Naruto as well but not as much as Kakashi had.

"I talked to the third Hokage they found you an apartment you can live in for now, until you can find a place you can afford on your own. You're a good kid, don't ever think you are not. If it was my choice I wouldn't be asking you to move, unfortunately the Hokage has decided I needed to take a genin team, he doesn't think it would be appropriate if one of my team members lived with me "

"So it's not because of Sasuke that I have to leave? Naruto asked, feeling grateful that it wasn't totally his fault that this situation was happening.

Kakashi stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Naruto standing there with tears in his eyes. Would this ever stop? Would anyone ever love him? Naruto turned and stared out the window, feeling hopeless once more.

Naruto wondered into his room and sat down on the bed. This decision had been a long time coming, but it was one he needed to make. He couldn't just keep moving from place to place, he wanted a family. He'd thought he'd had that with Kakashi apparently he was wrong. Because if Kakashi cared as much as he claimed to he wouldn't have told Naruto to move out. What other 12 year old had their own place, most had their own parents to take care of them. What had Naruto done so wrong that his own parents had been abandoned him, why was he so different from everyone else. Why must that always come between him and making friends?

Naruto intended to find out, even if he had to leave the village and go back to where he was from to do it. He deserved to know why he was so different, he didn't think it was too much to ask for some answers.

Grabbing his bag Naruto proceeded to pack his bags, he wasn't sure he liked the idea of living on his own. Considering, he had no money to survive on. He wondered what Kakashi was thinking in making this decision, he knew Naruto couldn't survive on his own yet he kicked him out anyways. If that's the way he wanted to be Naruto could leave the village and never return. Even as Naruto thought it he knew that he could not do it, he loved the village too much. It was peaceful and it felt like home to him after not having one for so long.

Sighing, Naruto thought of the futility of packing his bags, it wasn't like he was going to need them where he was going. He was tired of living the way he did, he was ready to finally find some peace. Maybe if he did what he was thinking about then then snake man wouldn't come to the village and destroy it. It would be his way of saving the village, whether they knew it or not. He wondered whether or not he should tell Kakashi about the dreams he had been having. Probably not Naruto thought he has too much on his mind right now as it is.

He thought about Sakura Haruno, his school crush, and wondered whether she would care or not. Probably not Naruto thought she had a crush on Sasuke and most days didn't even notice Naruto was around. He would give anything if she would look at him the way she looked at Sasuke but Naruto also knew that wasn't likely to happen. The only one at his school would care if he went through with his plan was Rock Lee and maybe Iruka Sensei. Sighing, Naruto stood up and went over to his desk.

A tear fell down his face =as he thought about the future, it scared him the thought of living alone. He had spent so much time alone, now that he had experienced the family life he didn't ever want to be alone again. As he continuted to pack his bags, he was startled when he heard the glass in the window break. Surprised he turned to see Sasuke and another young ninja that Naruto didn't know, standing beside him.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, a bad feeling filling him. He knew he should try to escape but with the way Sasuke blocked the window and the other ninja blocked the door, he knew escape wasn't very likely.

"If you even think about screaming" I will slit your throat" Sasuke said as he threw a punch into Naruto's stomach. Naruto gasped and bent over trying to gather some air back into his lungs. But Sasuke grabbed the back of his head and slammed his knee into Naruto's face, busting his nose. As Naruto collapsed onto the floor, Sasuke and the unknown ninja started kicking Naruto in his sides. Naruto cried out as he felt his ribs snap, and his body was filled with agony.

"You deserve this freak" Sasuke spat at Naruto as the now barely conscious 12 year old let out another moan. "I wouldn't think about showing your wings again unless you want the village to murder you." Sasuke said "I don't think they would be so understanding." that being said the two boys left the moaning Naruto bleeding on his bedroom floor.

"Naruto, are you read?" Kakashi peaked around the corner, startled to see his young charge was badly beaten. He ran forward and plucked Naruto up from the floor, his hands quickly running over his injuries.

"Kakashi" Naruto mumbled before closing his eyes.

"Why?" Kakashi mumbled as he wrapped Naruto's shredded wrist. "Who would do this to you?"

"No one loves me" Naruto mumbled barely coherent. The words tore at Kakashi's heart. There was a reason he'd had to tell Naruto that he'd been kicked out. It had nothing to do with the trouble at school, Kakashi had expected Naruto to get into trouble. He was proud of the boy for standing up for himself with Sasuke. He had been under orders, orders that he still wasn't sure that he understood. It was the only reason he'd said what he had, if he'd known this is what Naruto would have done. He would have said screw it. It wasn't like his mission was of the utmost importance, at least not yet anyways.

"Stay with me Naruto" Kakashi said as he finished wrapped Naruto up. Picking the small boy up, Kakashi leaped out the window and took off towards the hospital. Each sound that Naruto made tore at Kakashi's heart. He should have known something like this would happen, Naruto struggled with finding acceptance wherever he was. This shouldn't have come as a surprise. "Keep fighting Naruto and I will find a way to get you the answers you so desperately need."

**TBC?**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz**

**Sasuke won't always be so evil, eventually he will start becoming friendly and by the end of the story they will be friends. And of course eventually you will start to see Naruto's powers but they haven't exactly fully manifested themselves yet.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Naruto woke up to a steady beeping sound. Opening his eyes, he took note of his surroundings. The whiteness of everything in the room, the beeping sounds. He was in the hospital, which meant his attempt at suicide had not worked. Frowning, Naruto looked down at his wrists, they were both tied down to the bed with leather, he guessed they knew he would just try again when he woke up.

"Who Naruto?" a voice asked from somewhere on his left. "Who would you do this to you? Why would you think that no one cared about you?" Kakashi asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Because they don't" Naruto spoke weakly, turning away from Kakashi's concerned gaze. "Everyone thinks I'm a freak of nature, and it's true I am. I haven't ever seen someone else like me."

"You haven't ever really had the opportunity to go back to where your from and ask anyone either." Kakashi said "You might find some answers there."

Naruto heaved a sigh, he knew Kakashi was probably right but he didn't really feel like wrapping his head around it right now. He was tired and he wanted to sleep and he was ashamed that Kakashi had found him so badly beaten, when Naruto should have been able to defend himself.

"You're going to be okay, but you're going to have to rest for a little while, but you will make a full recovery." Kakashi said, knowing that was one of the concerns on Naruto's mind.

"Good" Naruto mumbled sleepily, closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep. Kakashi stood watching over him, wondering if he should have tried to keep the two boys separated, maybe he could have asked for Naruto to be put in a different class. After all Kakashi had known that Sasuke had bullying tendencies. He had figured Naruto, who was a friendly boy, could somehow befriend the lonely Uchiha. Kakashi knew that most of Sasuke's issues stemmed from the fact that he was lonely, he only had his older brother Itachi, but Itachi worked a lot and wasn't around as much as he probably should have been.

Kakashi wondered if he could get the third Hokage to let Itachi start taking missions closer to home, maybe that would help Sasuke to be a little bit friendlier if he wasn't alone so much. Then again some kids were just born mean, he didn't necessarily believe that that was Sasuke's problem. But you never know truly what caused one child to bully another.

"Rest Naruto, you'll need to get all the energy that you can get. Considering you and Sasuke were put on the same team. Kakashi was under no illusions that he would have a hard time keeping the boys apart.

"Don't wanna be on the same team as Sasuke" Naruto mumbled as he turned over not so gently on his side. When he moaned in pain, Kakashi helped him back onto his back.

"It hurts" Naruto moaned, causing Kakashi's heart to hurt. If he hadn't chosen to accept the mission that was forcing Naruto to move out, then maybe this situation could have been avoided. Then again Kakashi knew that Sasuke was so rage filled it probably wouldn't have made much difference. Sasuke would have found a way to hurt Naruto. He just hoped he could reach Sasuke before something happen that would change the boy forever for the bad.

"It's going to hurt worse before it gets better" Kakashi said "but it will get better, I will be here with you every step of the way so that you won't be lonely or scared." _ And because Sasuke wouldn't dare attack Naruto again with him around _Kakashi thought. He would do whatever it took to protect the beaten boy lying on the bed beside him.

"Please stay" Naruto murmured sleepily, not catching the look in Kakashi's eyes. Kakashi felt guilty for allowing this to happen to his young charge. He couldn't help but wonder what the Hokage had been thinking in ordering Naruto to move into his own apartment. Kakashi knew very well that the Hokage knew that Naruto wasn't widely accepted among his peers yet. So why do something that deliberately placed him into harms way? Was the Hokage trying to rid the village of an unknown danger, not that Kakashi thought Naruto was a danger to the village. If anything he was in danger from the village. He didn't think the Hokage would put to death an innocent child, but what other reason could there be for what happened to Naruto? Nothing made sense to Kakashi and it hadn't since he had found Naruto sleeping in the forest. He would be the first to admit, that Naruto having wings and the ability to fly was strange, but that didn't automatically make him evil. Naruto didn't even know anything about his past, so Kakashi didn't think it was likely that he was a spy, though the villagers seemed intent on thinking so. Sasuke especially. Deep down Kakashi didn't believe that a child as innocent as the one lying before him on the bed could ever be a spy.

"Where did you come from kid? And why do you have the abilities that you do?" Kakashi wondered out loud. He had to admit the ability to fly would make Naruto an amazing warrior, above all the others in the village. He didn't think Naruto had been born the way he was, Kakashi was pretty sure that he had been created somehow. Not like a robot either, he might have been born as human, but something along the way had to happened to change that status. Kakashi wanted to find out, as much as Naruto wanted to know how he had gotten to be the way he was. For what purpose was Naruto created? Was he supposed to be a superior race? If so why and what were they supposed to do. These questions bothered Kakashi and he knew there wasn't going to be a way to find any answers any time soon. Not if the Hokage had his way. Kakashi couldn't shake the fact that the Hokage had wanted Naruto hurt, which didn't make sense because the Hokage loved the people whom he was in charge of. Was it because Naruto came from a different village? Kakashi could understand him being suspicious. The Hokage's job was to protect the village, so he couldn't allow any unknown beings into the village. Why then order Kakashi to take care of him? Unless he wanted to Kakashi to find out the information from Naruto, but since Naruto didn't really know anything except for the village he had been born in. then he couldn't really help the Hokage.

Kakashi sighed and looked out the window. Little Naruto's arrival had complicated things but the kid couldn't have known that. Just looking at him, Kakashi was lucky that Naruto even knew his own name, something about him told Kakashi that Naruto had been pretty much neglected all of his life. That hurt Kakashi deep down, just the thought of a little boy being abandoned for whatever purpose made Kakashi sick.

"Kashi" Naruto mumbled in his sleep, as he tried to turn over in the bed, and hit his sore ribs. Crying out in pain, Naruto opened his eyes to find Kakashi sitting beside him. His presence giving off a calming aura that settled Naruto right down.

"It's okay, Naruto, no one is going to hurt you here." Kakashi said soothing as Naruto mumbled something under his breath then closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Hearing the door open Kakashi turned toward the door, the Third Hokage stood in the doorway, quietly watching the scene around him.

"Has he said anything about what or who he is?" he asked.

"I don't think he knows what he is." Kakashi answered "He knows he has wings and can fly but I don't think he knows the reason for it. Other than he's a freak because Sasuke told him he was."

"Sasuke is going to be dealt with" The Hokage said "You don't have to doubt that."

"Do I?" Kakashi asked "Because it wouldn't have surprised me if you had sent Sasuke to get that information from him, and Sasuke took it too far and beat the crap out of Naruto."

"Any information we can get from Naruto is important yes" The Hokage admitted "But not at the cost of the child's health. I wouldn't see a child harmed even if he was from an enemy village."

"Good, because regardless of what you think, I am moving him back in with me. Appropriate or not." Kakashi stated "I don't trust Sasuke. Until he can prove that he won't attack Naruto in private anymore, Naruto will not be alone. I think this kid has been alone for far too long in his life. I am going to make up for that."

"It's seems you have grown attached to the child." The Hokage commented and Kakashi nodded.

"He's a sweet boy, I don't think he intends any harm to anyone." Kakashi said as he looked over at the sleeping blonde. The kid was the picture of innocence.

"One can never be so sure of that." The Hokage said grimly, he could remember children being used to destroy villages. It was rare when that had happened, but it had happened nonetheless. He had to protect his village from any threats, and despite Kakashi's assurances, Naruto could still be a threat. If it turned out that Naruto was, he would do whatever necessary to eliminate that threat.

**AN**

**Do you think Naruto's a threat? What do you think he is? Thanks for reading and reviewing, sorry for taking so long to update. ****I am going to be updating The Heart of the matter next, so look for that chapter sometime in the next week or so. ****Liz**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Naruto woke up again he found himself in a warm bed, in familiar surroundings. Blinking he can only stare and wonder exactly what had happened, how did he end up back at Kakashi's apartment. Frowning, Naruto shifted his position, wincing at the pain that went through his ribs.

"You might want to be still for a little while, you have a couple broken ribs. Those take time to heal." A masked silver head man said from the doorway.

"Why am I hear?" Naruto asked, he knew that Kakashi didn't really want him taking up space in his apartment, that's why Naruto had been moved in the first place.

"Because you are too young to live on your own." Kakashi replied "and I don't think the Hokage realizes the danger you would be in if you lived alone."

"I would be fine if it wasn't for Sasuke." Naruto muttered frowning he didn't really understand why the black haired Nin had it out for him. Sure Naruto was a little different but that didn't mean that Sasuke was better than him.

"Sasuke is going through a hard time right now" Kakashi said "He doesn't always act like this."

"Just because you are going through something doesn't give you the right to treat others badly." Naruto pointed out "Look at me, I'm not even from this village and I know to treat people better than that."

"What you don't understand, Sasuke lost his family at a young age, he's being raised by his older brother, who is currently away from the village on a secret mission. Sasuke and Itachi are close and Sasuke doesn't like long missions that takes Itachi away." Naruto sighed he couldn't blame the gloomy Uchiha for missing his brother. Naruto was certain that if he had any family he would be missing them. Naruto couldn't help but wonder what it was like to have someone care that much about you? Would Naruto ever find that? Would anyone be able to care about a freak like him?

"Whatever you are thinking, stop" Kakashi said not liking the expression on Naruto's face. "I promise we are going to find out about your background, it just might take some time."

"I've been here seven years already." Naruto said "if there was anything to be found, I think it would have been found already." Kakashi wished he could comfort the boy but he knew Naruto was right, the more that time passed, the less chance of finding out about where he came from.

Sighing, Naruto turned away from Kakashi, the older man didn't have anything to tell him, nothing he done would bring any comfort. Naruto doubted that there was anything that the man could do to help him at the moment, because Naruto's situation wasn't something that Kakashi had ever dealt with before.

Naruto waited until Kakashi had left the room, before shoving the blankets back and slowly crawling out of bed. What he had never told the other man was that Naruto could heal pretty quickly, and his wings had regenerative powers as well. Depending on the injury it healed quickly. Once Naruto had gotten his wing caught in between two boulders (don't ask, Naruto didn't like remembering said situation) he had gotten free but he had ripped a small portion of his left wing off because he had pulled two hard. It had taken a couple of days but his wing had returned to normal, although from what Naruto could remember it hadn't been a pain free experience. That's why Naruto protected his wings at every chance, he didn't want to have a repeat of that experience again.

Careful to not upset his ribs, Naruto crawled out of the window and climbed to the top of the building. Finding a place that over looked the village, Naruto lay down and stared up at the night sky. He wanted to stretch his wings and fly but he figured he had better wait until he healed completely for that. He couldn't help but remember Sasuke's words that the villagers would murder him if they saw him. Naruto didn't know if that was true, (he figured it probably was, because people tended to be cruel to those that were different.) he wondered if he would be better off trying to find another place to live. Although he also doubted that anyone would be completely accepting of him as he was.

"Don't you think it would be more comfortable if you were inside lying down?" Naruto heard a voice asked, and he looked over to find another ninja from his class laying on the roof.

"Maybe, but maybe I don't feel like being inside right now." Naruto replied turning away from the laziest person he had ever known.

"Give Sasuke a chance, he's not always such a bastard." Shikamaru told him "He's usually a lot less moody when Itachi is home."

"I take it that this Itachi isn't home right now?" Naruto asked wondering if everyone in the village was a fan of the moody Uchiha.

"No, he's been on a rather lengthy mission. Sasuke worries more than most, especially after his clan was murdered. I'm not saying you have to be his best friend or anything but try and understand why he is so moody all the time."

"His being moody has nothing to do with him being a bully." Naruto said "he's like everyone else, unaccepting of those who are different from them. People fear the things they don't know about. I'm nothing to be feared."

"Maybe not." Shikamaru said "but until you prove that you are safe. People are going to think what I think."

"What do you think?" Naruto asked causing the other to look over at him.

"I see a boy that is longing for a place to belong and desires to be loved for who he is. I don't believe there is anything about you that is dangerous."

"You are the first to think that then." Naruto said "even Kakashi and Iruka don't fully trust me and I've known both of them since I was brought to the village."

"Like you said people fear what they don't know. Keep doing what your doing, you will prove those that think you are dangerous wrong." Naruto frowned but watched as the lazy ninja climbed to his feet and took off.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Naruto sits up. Shikamaru was right when he'd said that Naruto longed to find somewhere that he belonged, Naruto was starting to get the feeling that maybe Konoha wasn't going to be that place after all.

"Hey, I thought I told you not to aggravate your ribs" Naruto heard Kakashi say behind him.

"They don't feel too bad right now" Naruto told him before returning his gaze to the moon.

"Why is it that everyone seems to be on Sasuke's side. He's a jerk, I don't care if he's missing his brother or not."

"Maybe because everyone else has grown up with him, you came into their lives at a later time." Kakashi said "they've known him longer, and know all there is to know. You, on the other hand are like a blank piece of paper, no one knows anything."

"I want to change that." Naruto said "but I don't know how. I don't know how much longer I can pretend that I'm okay with not knowing anything about my past." Sighing again, Naruto pushed himself to his feet before leaping from the roof back to his window. He could still remember a dream that he had a dream, stating that someone was looking for him, saying something about Naruto being an abomination and that Naruto would die before said person destroyed the village that he currently lived in.

Laying on his bed, Naruto closed his eyes trying to get the eerie voice out of his head. He don't know why he had thought of the dream just then but he couldn't help but wonder about it.

"Kakashi?" Naruto called out knowing that even if Kakashi was still on the roof he could still hear him.

"Yeah" The masked man stuck his head in Naruto's window.

"Am I an abomination?" Naruto asked quietly. He wasn't exactly sure what that was, other than something that wasn't natural.

"No" Kakashi replied "you are special that doesn't make you an abomination. Where did you hear that?"

"Nowhere in particular" Naruto shrugged "just something that came to mind." he didn't want to tell Kakashi about his dream in fear that Kakashi would report it to the Hokage and the Hokage would have Naruto removed from the village because he was seen as some kind of threat.

"There's nothing wrong with you." Kakashi assured him softly, his heart aching at the thought that the boy thought he was an abomination. "Get some sleep, we have a mission tomorrow."

"Yippie" Naruto muttered "I get to put up with Mr. Moody." Kakashi chuckled and wondered if there would ever come a day that the two would get along.

"I'll be there to make sure he doesn't cause trouble." Kakashi reminded him "I'll make sure you behave too."

"I'm not the one you have to worry about." Naruto said causing Kakashi to chuckle again, before disappearing.

~The next morning~

After waking up before Kakashi, Naruto found himself sitting in the kitchen staring down at the table. He couldn't explain it but he felt like something bad was going to happen. He hoped that Kakashi nor Sakura and even that bastard Sasuke didn't get hurt. He didn't understand why he was feeling like this, last time he had gotten this feeling he had found himself trying to avoid being shot with an arrow. As it was his wing had been injured in that murder attempt. So what could be the reason for this feeling? Was someone who knew about Naruto's past going to come after him. Were they going to try and put him down like the animal they claimed he was?

Feeling irritable and unsure of what to do about it, Naruto stood and began pacing. The more he paced the worse the feeling got until it felt like Naruto's heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

"What's wrong with you?" a sleepy sounding Kakashi asked from the doorway of the kitchen. He had just barely managed to drag himself out of his bed to find his young charge pacing in the kitchen like a wound up lion.

"I don't know" Naruto answered, sounding more annoyed than ever. "I just have this feeling that something is going to happen."  
"Well calm yourself." Kakashi suggested "making yourself sick with worry isn't going to do you any good." Naruto growled under his breath and continued pacing leaving Kakashi to work around him. Kakashi shook his head, he didn't know how to ease the boy's mind. He personally thought that the kid was worrying over nothing.

A few hours later, Naruto and Kakashi made their way to the village gates where Sakura and Sasuke were already waiting, both looking more than a little annoyed.

"About time you showed up, I thought we would be nesting here." Sasuke muttered before glancing at Naruto, who had completely ignored Sasuke's comment.

"Is your brother home yet?" Kakashi asked Sasuke as they began to make their way out of the village.

"Yes," Sasuke said "he got in this morning."

"I wonder what your brother does when he's away from the village for so long." Sakura commented.

"He's tracing down the ones that killed our clan." Sasuke replied "and I hope he finds them and destroys them."

The further they got from the village the worse Naruto's feeling about something bad happening he got. Naruto was thinking so hard he didn't see either Sasuke or Sakura continuing to glance at him.

"Sensei." Naruto said when they had reached a place in the forest that was deep in the woods and completely surrounding by trees. "Something's wrong." Naruto said catching his teammates attention. "I can't explain it but there is something not right." Naruto found himself facing the direction they had just come from. He could sense several people there but he wasn't sure why they were there.

All of a sudden without any warning a kunai was flung towards them, but Naruto was fast enough he was able to knock it out of the air. Taking a defensive position, Naruto kept his eyes on the direction the kunai had come from.

Hearing the sound of feathers, Naruto looked up to see three other ninja that looked like him, except they actually had talons instead of feet. Naruto can only stare in horror. Did he come from the same place as these creatures. Sensing that they weren't aiming for him but rather his teammates, Naruto spread his wings, stretching them firmly before rushing towards his teammates. Naruto managed to pull both Sasuke and Sakura in close and wrapped him his wings offering them more of a defense then they had before.

"Kill the Uchiha" Naruto heard one of the creatures hiss, "We killed the rest of his clan, we can't leave him alive." Scowling, Naruto pulled his wings tighter around them.

"I won't let you harm them." Naruto said "no matter who you are."

"Fine." the leader said as he spread his wings flying high, before pulling his wings in and diving towards them, Naruto felt the talons tears into his wings, ripping into them and tearing the thin membrane. Naruto screamed as tears filled his eyes, but he knew he had to stay strong he couldn't allow his teammates to be harmed. Feeling one of his wings fall to the side, Naruto winced, the wing was barely hanging on, and every time he moved it, agony shot through him.

"I won't let you have Sasuke." Naruto growled as he felt the talons dig into his shoulders, he could feel muscle tearing and he fought the urge to scream again.

"Hang on Naruto" he heard his team leader cry out. Right before he felt the talons get ripped from his shoulders. Turning he found Kakashi had a kunai against the other creatures throat, but the half bird, half man hissed and knocked Kakashi over before taking flight.

"We'll be back" the creature said and the others followed after him. With his body aching and in total agony, Naruto released Sasuke and Sakura from the protection of his wings.

Feeling lightheaded Naruto took quick stock of his injuries, his wings had been badly shredded in the fight, badly enough he wouldn't be able to pull them into his body so that he could hide them, his shoulders were bloody and torn from the talons that had dug into them.

"Next time I have a bad feeling, I'm going to stay home" Naruto murmurs before collapsing unconscious at Sasuke's feet.

****SORRY Its taken so long to update! I've been working on my sasunaru stories on my other account along with the others stories on this account. Thanks for being patient and reading and reviewing! PS what you do you think about creatures like Naruto being responsible for killing Sasuke's clan? Liz****


	5. Chapter 5

When Naruto regained consciousness, he was on Kakashi's back. He moaned when his sore body was jarred. Turning his head, he found that both Sakura and Sasuke had a wing.

"His poor wings" he heard Sakura murmur, "they were torn to shreds."

"They will heal" Naruto mumbled attempting to pull the shredded wings away from his teammates. He didn't really anyone to touch them because they were sensitive as hell. Right now though they hurt badly, Naruto knew that pain would only grow worse as they healed.

"They don't look like they can't be fixed" Sakura murmured, she was still in shock over how Naruto had protected them from the other winged guys.

"I heal pretty quickly if I am left alone." Naruto muttered as he closed his eyes again. He could feel Sasuke's eyes on his back, could almost feel the the Uchiha confusion. Naruto knew that Sasuke hadn't expected for Naruto to protect him, not after everything Sasuke had already done to him.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Kakashi asked the already unconscious boy. Glancing over his shoulder, Kakashi noted Naruto's pale appearance.

"I don't think he can hear you" Sakura muttered as she ran her fingers over the shredded membrane in Naruto's wing. She hadn't expected Naruto to be willing to protect them from his own kind. "Sensei, do you think it's possible that he knew they were there before we even left the village?" she had thought it weird that supposedly Naruto didn't know anything about his past, but for others to show up now was more than a little coincidental.

"I would hope not" Kakashi replied "but if he did why warn us before the attack?"

"You seriously think that he had something to do with that?" Sasuke spoke up "he risked his own damn life to protect us and you think he had a part in that mess?"

"You don't think it's weird that more of his kind showed up?" Sakura asked "They were after you for all we know Naruto is a spy for them."

"I don't believe it" Sasuke said "If he was a spy he wouldn't have had his wings and back ripped to shreds to protect us." Sasuke couldn't imagine the pain that the younger boy had to be in. Knowing that Naruto had risked himself, made him feel like even more of a jerk. He had gone out of his way to make Naruto feel unwanted and like he was a freak of nature for years. He had never stopped to think that Naruto was looking for acceptance from whomever he could get it. Sasuke might get left alone when Itachi had left on long missions but Naruto was pretty much always alone, sure he lived with Kakashi but Naruto didn't have anyone that was like him to help support him as he grew. Sasuke couldn't imagine the loneliness that Naruto had to feel, knowing that no one in the village would ever really trust him.

Sasuke shook his head, he couldn't believe that his teammate would honestly think that Naruto had been behind this. It hadn't been like Naruto had guided them into this particular part of the forest. No, Sasuke didn't think he had anything to do with this situation, he didn't even believe that Naruto could have known that there were others like him. Naruto had been in Konoha for seven years now, that was a long time for a spy to be undercover and no one know about it.

"So what do we do now?" Sakura asked ignoring the contempt in Sasuke's eyes. "With Naruto injured can we even continue our mission?"

"No" Kakashi replied "which is why we are going back to Konoha." Sakura nodded and returned her attention back to Naruto's wings, they were surprisingly soft in texture, instead of being as rough as they looked like they would be. She could still see in her mind's eye the way he had used his wings to protect both her and Sasuke. She didn't understand why he had done it, not after the hell both Sasuke and herself had put him through. Why did Naruto even care about what happened to them. She supposed that she should probably ask him once he regained consciousness.

As they approached Konoha's gates Sasuke wondered what would happen with Naruto. Kakashi would have to tell the truth about what happened Sasuke knew that some would think that Naruto had somehow set the trap himself. After all Naruto had sensed the others presence before any of them had even felt the stir of danger in the air. Sasuke hoped that the Hokage would believe that Naruto was innocent in all that just occurred.

Upon reaching the village, Kakashi headed towards the hospital with Naruto. Sasuke didn't know why but he didn't think it would be a good idea for Naruto to go there. He believed if anyone saw him at his weakest they would find a way to kill him.

"Sensei, take him to my house." Sasuke said frowning and not really understanding why he wanted Naruto to be somewhere close to him.

"Why? He needs a hospital." Kakashi replied

"And you honestly expect them to help him in the condition that he's in?" Sasuke asked "Besides you heard him say that he would heal. At my place at least he can be safe while he heals."

"Don't you think you should ask Itachi about this?" Kakashi asked and Sasuke scowled.

"No" he said sounding annoyed "Itachi is gone more than he is there anyways."

"Fine." Kakashi said as he turned and headed towards the compound that was near the edge of the village. Kakashi figured that Sasuke had a point, if someone saw Naruto as he was now, they would most certainly try to kill him since he was weak and pretty much defenseless.

As they made their way to the Uchiha compound, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how it was that Naruto had known the enemy had been there before the rest of him. He in no way blamed Naruto for what happened, seeing how his student had gone out of his way to protect the teammates that had given him hell. Kakashi wondered if Naruto had better senses than the normal human, most would probably argue and say that Naruto wasn't human but that was their opinion. They didn't know Naruto the way Kakashi did. He in no way doubted Naruto's innocence, how he had came to the village was strange yes, but something told him that Naruto wasn't who the village feared that he could be. Kakashi had to wonder if Konoha would ever be able to let go of the prejudice that they held for those who weren't the same as them.

Upon reaching the complex, Sasuke led the small group into an empty room. The room was pretty empty aside from the bed that took up the majority of the space.

"He should be able to recover hear peacefully" Sasuke told Kakashi whom had gently lowered the barely conscious Naruto to the bed. The blonde immediately crawled to the head of the bed and flopped down on his stomach, allowing his wings to lay limp beside him.

"Are you sure he shouldn't see a doctor?" Sakura asked wincing at the claw marks on Naruto's shoulders.

"I'll be fine" Naruto said, opening his eyes to look at his teammates. "Just give me a couple days."

"Your shoulders, and your wings are torn to shreds, I'm not sure how you can just be okay." Sakura said.

"My body is made differently" Naruto muttered, turning his gaze to the open window, a thoughtful expression on his face. Where had those other creatures come from? The same place as Naruto did? He didn't know, he just knew that for some reason he wasn't the same as them, maybe that had been the reason he had been abandoned at such a young age.

Heaving a small sigh, Naruto allowed his eyes to drift close and allowed himself to fall into sleep. He knew that for the time being his teammates wouldn't allow anyone to bring harm to him. Although they couldn't exactly help him to escape the memories that ate at him from inside.

_"___Naruto" a small voice said from somewhere next to Naruto's ear. "Wake up!" Naruto blearily opened his eyes and found himself staring at his green eyed friend Keita Takashi. His friend's eyes were wide with nervousness as he continued to poke at Naruto's shoulder.__

_"___What do you want?" Naruto groaned, he was still wore out from yesterday's flying lesson. Being that they were so young they hadn't needed to learn the sky but for someone reason their master deemed them ready. Naruto had been excited but after the first lesson, he found himself quite bored with it.__

_"___Master is coming" Keita said "and it doesn't look like he's in a good mood." Naruto frowned if their master wasn't in a good mood, they would be better off hiding. The man could be very violent and cruel. Naruto had seen a few scars on few others backs. They weren't pretty, they went deep, deep enough that no surgery would ever be able to fix it.__

_"___What set him off this time?" Naruto asked sitting up, he wasn't sure he and Keita would be able to get away, not if their master was really angry, he would just send one of the other 'angels' after them. __

_"___Something you didn't do, I think" Keita replied "which is why you have to get out of here quick."__

_"___Not without you." Naruto replied, Keita was a few years older than him, but Naruto considered him to be more of a brother than a friend.__

_"___Someone has to distract Master" Keita said "I don't want to see you beaten."__

_"___Neither do I want you to take a beating for me." Naruto replied, knowing that he wasn't going to go anywhere without his friend.__

_"___Why are you so stubborn?" Keita asked with a soft chuckle. Naruto shrugged, and then frowned when he heard their master's footsteps approaching. __

__As their master entered their room, Keita spread his wings, and enveloped Naruto, Keita turned with Naruto safely tucked beneath his wings, he wouldn't allow any harm to come to the small child. Naruto didn't deserve to have his innocence stripped away with every beating. Naruto cared about everyone, no matter how badly they treated him. Keita had been one of those who had bullied Naruto relentlessly, until for someone reason their master had been pissed, and Naruto had taken a beating that had been meant for Keita. No Keita refused to allow that to happen again, he refused to see the joy of life fade from his young friend's eyes. Keita winces as he feels the whip dig into his back, ripping his skin as his master hit him hard.__

_"___Step away Keita, I don't want to hurt you." Their master said even though he had already hit Keita.__

_"___I won't let you harm Naruto" Keita said "I won't let you destroy him like you have destroyed us." __

_"___He needs to fall into line" Their master hissed "so that plans for attaching and destroying Konoha can finally come to fruition." __

_"___He's a child" Keita snapped "how can you ask him to participate in that?" __

_"___He will learn to do what he's told" The man said "or I will find him no longer useful and have to put him down." annoyed the master lashed out with the whip again, tearing once more into Keita's damaged flesh. Naruto whimpered softly hearing the cries of pain that Keita wouldn't allow their master to hear. Even though Naruto was safe from the whip, he could feel Keita's body shaking from the pressure that their master hit him with.__

__Finally after several minutes, their master grew bored, and knew that if he wanted to get to Naruto he would have to find some other means to do so. Keita wouldn't allow him to harm the small boy. It was only a little while later that he had come up with the perfect plan. __

__Once their master had left and Keita had released Naruto from the protection of his wings. Naruto could only watch as Keita collapsed onto the ground, blood pouring from his back, staining his feathers.__

_"___Why Keita?" Naruto asked as tears filled his eyes, he knew his friend was hurting and that he couldn't do anything about it. He wished he had taken the beating instead, it was hell seeing his friend in so much pain.__

_"___I haven't forgotten the beating you got when I messed up" Keita replied "You didn't deserve to have that happen."__

_"___You didn't deserve this either" Naruto said as he finally allowed his tears to fall. __

_"___I'll be okay" Keita said softly as he turned onto his side and opened his arms allowing the smaller boy to cuddle up next to him. "I won't ever let him hurt you." __

__A few hours later, Keita walked away from the sleeping child, his back mostly healed but now had a few light scars on it. Keita didn't mind taking the scars as long as it meant that Naruto wouldn't have to bear them just yet. It was as he was walking back to his own room, that he felt the tranquiler dart hit him, the medicine spreading quickly and knocking him out almost immediately. __

__Feeling rough hands shaking him awake, Naruto opened his eyes and for a moment wondered where Keita had gone. The older angel usually stayed with him until he went to sleep, so it was pretty normal for Naruto to wake up with him gone.__

_"___Get up, stupid" A harsh voice said "Our master wants you down in the arena."__

_"___Why?" Naruto asked as he blinked up at the angel they called the black demon or sometimes just demon.__

_"___How the hell should I know" demon hissed "I was just told to come and get you."__

_"___Fine" Naruto muttered as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. He had a bad feeling that something was going to happen that would change his world. __

__It took ten minutes to get from his room to the arena, once there he found Keita tied to a post in the middle of the arena. __

_"___For your disobedience and his willing to protect you." Their master said "Keita will pay with his life for the mistake that Naruto Uzumaki committed." Naruto stared at their master in horror wondering if the man would actually go through with it. __

_"___Watch as your only friends pays for your mistake with his life!" their master told Naruto before having someone hold Naruto in place, forcing him to watch as the dark angels that their Master had released into the arena tore into Keita. Naruto tried to close his eyes, not wanting to watch as Demon's talons tore into Keita, leaving bloody gauges in their place. Naruto struggled to block out the sounds of Keita's cries as he was sliced by the cruel talons of the angels. __

__Tears formed in Naruto's eyes, as he watching the bloody body of his best friend, his brother, go completely limp. Breaking free of the angel that held him, Naruto raced towards Keita's body. He knew that his friend was gone but Naruto still felt like he should try to do something. Kneeling beside his friend, Naruto can barely hold the tears back as he looks into his friend's horror stricken face. Not caring about the blood, Naruto buried his face in his friends chest, sobs tearing through him, making him feel like his heart was bleeding.__

_"___You can't be gone" Naruto whispered as he felt hands tug on his shoulders attempting to pull him away from what was left of his friend. __

_"___I'm so sorry, it should be me here" Naruto whispered, agony filling his voice. Keita had been the only one who had ever been friendly to him and that had only happened after Naruto had claimed Keita's mistake as his own. "What am I supposed to do now?" __

_"___Become the weapon you were created to be" His master said as he approached from behind him. "This is what will happen to you if you don't fall into line and do what you are told." Naruto turned to stare at him, at that moment he didn't what their master done to him, he just wanted to be with his friend again. Naruto didn't understand why his master had felt the need to go this far. All he had to was threaten Keita and Naruto would have fell in line, he hadn't needed to kill him. Naruto doubted that he would ever be able to do what this man wanted him too, not after this. __

__Naruto just stared at his master. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of Master claimed to love his creations but then be so cruel as to murder one because another wouldn't fall into line. Naruto hadn't been sure what the so called mistake that he'd supposedly had made had been in the first place. Scowling, Naruto wondered if it would be better to just let his master kill him now, he wouldn't ever be useful in the way that he wanted Naruto to be.__

_"___You didn't have to kill Keita" Naruto said softly, fighting against his tears. "you don't have to mistreat any of us, but you do. I don't think you deserve to be called master." A sudden blinding pain shot through Naruto's cheek as his master slapped him roughly.__

_"___You will do as I say." Master said, glaring at the boy in front of him. "or you will end up just like your friend here." Naruto closed his eyes, he didn't want to remember Keita this way. Keita deserved a better death, not to be torn apart by his own species. Naruto only glared defiantly at his master. The man might think that Keita's death would make Naruto follow his orders he was wrong. He only made Naruto want to escape that much more. __

_"___Take him to his room." Master ordered Demon and and another angel. They nodded each grabbed an arm and began dragging the unwilling Naruto away from Keita.__

_"___I hate you!" Naruto yelled at his master, who only smirked at the upset child. Master had plans for making Naruto one of the most cruel beings that he had ever created. While it seemed difficult now, he knew with a few more episodes like the one with Keita, Naruto would become whom Master wanted him to be. Of course, he had never planned for the young Naruto to have such a gentle heart, in time he knew how to fix that. Keita was only the beginning. Eventually the boy would want to know where he came from and how he came to end up in his current situation. __

__What Master hadn't planned on however, was Naruto slipping out of the compound that night. Of course when he heard he sent his best archers out after him, giving them an order to kill if they couldn't catch him. __

Naruto woke up with a startled yelp, his back was in absolute agony, as were his wings. Even as he lay there, he had to blink back tears as he remembered what his friend Keita had been through before Naruto had escaped. Naruto knew that if Master ever found him now, he would likely face the same fate.

"Are you okay?" Naruto heard his black haired teammate ask. Turning his head, Naruto glanced at him. Sasuke took in Naruto's appearance, his blonde teammate was covered in sweat, whether that was from the dream that Naruto had just had, or from his slowly healing body Sasuke didn't know. He just knew that he didn't like the sick look that Naruto had in his eyes, he looked like he was about to get sick at any second.

"I don't feel well" Naruto murmured as he lay his head back on the pillow, his stomach was rolling making him feel like he was about to hurl. It was always like this when his wings had been badly damaged. It was never a pleasant feeling.

"Can I do anything for you?" Sasuke asked, feeling more than a little helpless.

Naruto shook his head, he didn't want to go back to sleep, he didn't want to dream of Keita again. The older boy had been a friend and a protector and he hadn't deserved to die the way he did. Naruto couldn't help but blame himself for it, after all it was because of a mistake that he had made that had lead up to Keita's demise.

"talk to me" Naruto said after a few minutes of silence. "don't let me go back to sleep."

"Won't you heal better if you sleep?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really" Naruto said "There's things I don't want to remember that tend to only come to mind when I sleep." That's how the next few hours went Sasuke talking to Naruto, and cleaning up vomit when the pain had gotten too much for Naruto to handle and he had heaved.

"Isn't there something that can be done for him?" Sakura asked watching as Sasuke wiped away the sweat from Naruto's forehead.

"No" Naruto moaned answering Sakura's question "the only thing that can be done is wait for the process to finish." Sakura frowned. Naruto had said that the healing wouldn't be pleasant, she hadn't expected to be so rough on Naruto physically.

Hearing footsteps coming down the hallway, Sasuke looked away from Naruto to find his brother standing in the doorway.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Itachi asked and Sasuke frowned.

"He was hurt and he needed a place to recover." Sasuke replied.

"You probably would have been better off leaving him outside of the village." Itachi said "Because after what I found out about his kind, the Hokage will have no choice but to banish him."

"Just because it was his kind, doesn't mean it was him" Sasuke said "he doesn't have much memory of what happened when he was little. Besides what happened to our clan happened a little after he was born, he couldn't have had anything to do with it."

"Maybe not" Itachi said "but it's pretty clear to me that he's not meant to be trusted. They train their young to be spies, and then make them go deep undercover." Sasuke snorted. At one time he would have believed that Naruto could have been a spy, but not after Naruto had risked his own life to protect them.

"He protected us." Sasuke told Itachi "when his kind attacked, he risked his own life to keep us safe."

"He knew they were there before we did" Sakura said "you have to admit that is suspicious."

"I've said this before" Sasuke said slowly turning his glare on his pink haired teammate. "If he was a spy why warn us? Why put himself through this hell" he nodded towards the miserable looking lump on the bed "if he was just giving information to wherever he came from. Something tells me that he has a past that he would rather not remember."

"I want him out of this house, Sasuke" Itachi said making his younger brother scowl at him. "Until he can prove that he is not a spy and can be trusted I don't want him anywhere near here or you."

"He's hurt" Sasuke said glaring "how much harm is he going to cause in his condition. Besides don't you think that tossing him out in the street after saving my life is more than a little cruel?"

"I suppose your right" Itachi said, turning his head to look at Naruto as the blonde boy leaned over and vomited in the floor again. "Can't toss someone out in his condition, you will be responsible for him until he is better."

"What is he a dog?" Sasuke asked watching as his brother disappeared from the room. He wondered what kind of information his brother had stumbled on to make him that weary of the blonde boy. Could Naruto really be that dangerous to the village?

****Thanks for reading and reviewing! I loved writing this chapter! In the dream Naruto is about five years old, same age that he was when Kakashi found him. As for Naruto's kind, I call them angels, but most are certainly more like demons. ****

****PS: My SasuNaru stories are on my Nekoangel1988 account****


	6. Chapter 6

The Fallen Angel

Chapter 6

Naruto awoke to find a moody looking Sasuke staring out the window, a troubled expression on his face. Naruto knew that Sasuke would be thinking about the little information that Itachi had given him earlier. Naruto supposed he couldn't blame the older Uchiha for not trusting him. Naruto didn't remember a whole lot about his past, and what he did remember he didn't like to talk about.

Feeling his stomach turn again, Naruto closed his eyes and prayed for the nausea to go away, he was growing tired of this healing process. He was tired of hurting. He couldn't help but wonder if it would be in Konoha's best interest if he left. Naruto truly wasn't a spy but his former master would come, whether in search of Naruto or to accomplish his long sought after plans, he didn't know. Naruto hoped that he wouldn't have to face him, not after everything that the man had already put him through, but if it came down to it, he would do whatever he had to keep Konoha and the citizens that lived within it, safe. Even if it meant that Naruto had to die to do it, the way he figured it. Konoha would ever accept him as he was so if he sacrificed himself to save Konoha then maybe they would realize that Naruto had never intended them any harm. He just wanted love and acceptance same as anyone else.

"Are you going to get sick again?" Naruto heard Sasuke ask and Naruto turned to see the raven haired teen watching him closely.

"I don't think so" Naruto shook his head, even though his stomach was still bothering him. It wasn't as bad as it had been the previous day.

"Your wings and shoulders look much better than they did yesterday" Sasuke commented.

"I told you that I heal pretty quickly" Naruto said.

"How is that possible?" Sasuke asked frowning at his brother who was currently standing in the doorway.

"I'm not exactly sure" Naruto replied "I don't know anything about how I came to be this way. I only know that I wasn't born like this, I was somehow created." Sasuke frowned.

"What exactly do you remember?" Itachi asked catching Naruto's attention.

"My earliest memories are of pain" Naruto replied "we were beaten if we didn't do things the way master told us too. I remember my best friend Keita, and how many beatings he suffered just trying to protect me."

"Could those memories have been planted?" Itachi wondered "I think that it's pretty strange that you can't remember much. Except for those few memories." Naruto frowned.

"I know what you think of me" Naruto muttered "but I can assure you that I am not a spy, I wouldn't betray Konoha to anyone."

"Easy for a traitor to say" Itachi muttered before turning away from the door.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Sasuke shouted upon seeing the confusion on his teammates face.

"I'll be back" he told Naruto, before shuffling towards the door. He stopped out in the hallway, intent on making his brother give him all the information that he has.

"Why do you think he's a traitor?" he demanded. Itachi sighed.

"Because he's betraying his own kind, and he plans on betraying Konoha." Itachi replied.

"How would you know this?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Because I have an informant that has told me everything that he knows about Naruto, and creatures like him. They were created to destroy Konoha, they did destroy our clan." Itachi said bitterly, he still missed his parents even if they had been hard on him. He wanted to hunt down the clan killers and wipe them out the way that the Uchiha's had been wiped out.

"Just who is this informant?" Sasuke asked "and if Naruto is so bad why didn't he step forward earlier, before we got attacked and Naruto nearly got torn apart trying to protect us."

"For the time being, I'm not at liberty to say" Itachi informed his little brother "when the time is right, all will come out."

"Either that you are going to be left feeling pretty stupid when you realize how wrong you are about Naruto."

"I don't want to believe that he could betray anyone" Itachi said "but there is too much evidence to the contrary."

"I bet the so called evidence will disappear pretty quickly once Naruto is removed from Konoha." Sasuke said "I'm betting the so called evidence doesn't hold water considering you can't tell me anything."

"I would rather that you not get hurt" Itachi said "I don't think I could handle anything happening to you."

"I should have been hurt yesterday" Sasuke said "those creatures were after me, but Naruto risked himself to protect me. I'm betting that whomever they are, they try to come after me again."

"That's one of the reasons I want him out of this house." Itachi said "I don't know anything about how he can communicate, aside from the obvious."

"I highly doubt that he can read anyone's mind or communicate in any different kind of way." Sasuke said sounding more annoyed by the minute.

"But you don't know that" Itachi pointed out.

"Just because he's different, that doesn't make him dangerous." Sasuke said, getting fed up with the conversation. Itachi knew better to judge someone just because they were different. It wasn't fair to Naruto, although Sasuke could admit that he had done the same. He had mistreated Naruto because he hadn't trusted the blonde. However, after Naruto had protected both him and Sakura the way he had, Sasuke began to realize that just because one was different, it didn't make them the bad guy. Somehow Sasuke was going to have to get that through Itachi's thick skull.

"Sasuke whatever you do, don't place all your trust in him." Itachi warned "There is so much about him that we don't know."

"Yet, he's been here for seven years now" Sasuke reminded his brother "and neither of us have bothered to get to know him. Maybe if I had been a little friendlier Naruto would have felt like he could open up. As it is, I think he trusts us about as much as you trust him." that being said, Sasuke turned and reentered the bedroom, to find Naruto sitting up and staring out the window.

"My brother can be a jerk." Sasuke said knowing that Naruto was likely thinking about the things Itachi had said while he had been in the bedroom.

"I guess that's where you get it from then." Naruto said, with a small chuckle.

"Probably." Sasuke said shrugging. "For what it's worth, I am sorry, I didn't take the time to get to know you before I judged you." Naruto looked over at him, giving him a small smile.

"You remind me of Keita" Naruto said "he was much like you before he became my best friend." Naruto looked down the floor, hating the painful memories that were currently flooding his mind. Keita hadn't deserved to die the way he had. Naruto really wished that he could have changed things, alas that wasn't meant to be. "Keita was a couple years older than me. I remember being brought into what Master called 'the family unit' which was nothing more than a small group of four angels." Naruto said frowning. "Keita was a jerk at first, since I was the smallest one in the group, I got picked on more often than not. Keita blamed me for everything going wrong until one day he screwed up in training, and Master was really angry. I knew that it had been a stupid mistake that Keita had made, nothing that deserved the kind of beating I knew he would get. So at four years old I stepped in and took the beating for him. I told Master that I was the one that had screwed up, and needless to say that didn't go over too well, I was beaten until I was unconscious." Naruto frowned and swallowed hard. He really didn't like thinking about the beatings everyone had experienced at one time or the other.

"I understand why you wanted to get away." Sasuke said "Your so called Master doesn't sound like a pleasant man."

"I can't go back there" Naruto said looking at Sasuke with pleading eyes. "If I am forced back I'm pretty sure, Master will have me killed. He doesn't like things that don't obey him." Sasuke wished he could tell Naruto that he wouldn't have to go back, but if Itachi had his way, that's exactly where Naruto would be heading right that minute.

"Watching him kill Keita, I realize we don't mean a thing to him, he only wants to use us, supposedly we were created for destruction, but I think that there is probably more to life out there for us." Naruto heaved a weary sigh and closed his eyes, fighting against the torrent of bad memories. He really didn't want to have to deal with them.

"If it helps you can talk to me about whatever is bothering you." Sasuke said noticing the look of torment in Naruto's eyes.

"I don't want to burden you with my troubles." Naruto said "No one should have to live with the kind of memories that I have. Although once I came here, it started looking up." Sasuke snorted.

"I was a jackass and so was Sakura. The only ones you had to support you were Iruka and Kakashi, and Kakashi does a half assed job at that." the black haired teen told Naruto. "I imagine that living here has only been a slight improvement upon where you came from."

"It's been a little rough" Naruto admitted "But I believe that eventually I will be able to gain people's trust, once I prove that I am not here to bring them any harm."

"You have more faith in the citizens than I do." Sasuke said "I think you will find that it's much harder to find acceptance from them than you realize."

"I've been trying for seven years." Naruto replied "I'm not going to stop now, until everyone realizes I'm not the danger that they dream me to be."

Sighing, Naruto felt his head starting throbbing again, he knew he was nearly finished healing, so he shouldn't still be hurting like this. Closing his eyes, Naruto pressed his forehead into his knees, waiting for the pain to go away.

_"___I'm coming for you Naruto, and when I find you. I will make you watch as I destroy the village and then once your friends have been killed I will kill you in the same manner that Keita died. Traitors deserve nothing less". __

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, a worried frown on his face.

"Headache" Naruto replied "and it's rather vicious."

"Are you sure that you didn't get hit in the head by the claws?" Sasuke asked.

"Pretty sure I would know if I was headless" Naruto muttered, trying to ignore the feeling that was telling him that he needed to run, to get away from the Uchiha's and the village. Trouble was coming, Naruto knew that for sure, he just didn't know when. If Master found him hear, Naruto knew he would likely be slaughtered much like Keita had been.

Once the headache eased Naruto sat back up, ignoring the look of concern on Sasuke's face. He had to finish up healing so that he could leave, he couldn't allow Konoha to be destroyed because of him.

"What was that all about?" Sasuke asked staring at Naruto.

"You don't want to know" Naruto replied glumly, he knew there was only one thing he could do, and he doubted Sasuke was going to like it very much, because it was going to make Naruto look guilty as all hell.

"I'm going to do something your not going to like" Naruto said looking up at Sasuke. "But trust me when I say its for Konoha's best interest."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head.

"For the time being it's better if you don't know anything about it."

"You are not healed yet," Sasuke protested.

"I'm healed enough to be able to move around" Naruto said "that's all that I need going for me right now."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto shoved himself to his feet, and winced as he tucked his wings away, it wouldn't do to have them getting injured again.

"Thanks for all you've done." Naruto told Sasuke as he slowly made his way towards the door, and squeezed his way past Itachi.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" Itachi asked not liking the conversation that he had overheard.

"Somewhere where Konoha is safe from my kind." was all Naruto said as he made his way down the hall and out of the front door. Itachi scowled what the hell had that meant? Surely he couldn't already be putting some kind of plan into action.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he threw upon the bedroom door and collided with his older brother who was still standing in the hall.

"Itachi get out of my way" Sasuke told the furious looking older Uchiha.

"No." Itachi replied "I think the rat has finally decided to make his move against Konoha. I won't allow you to get involved in this any further."

"He can't be a traitor" Sasuke muttered frowning.

"Then what does he's doing what good for Konoha supposed to mean?" Itachi asked "if that doesn't mean he's a spy, I don't know what does."

"Then why would he bother protecting me?" Sasuke asked, feeling more confused by the moment. He was certain that Naruto was innocent of any kind of crime, so what had sent the blond running scared?

"I don't know" Itachi answered as he started towards the door. "But he's not getting by with anything."

A few hours later, Naruto found himself gathering his clothes from Kakashi's apartment. As he moved around the room, Naruto wondered if he would be able to come back here once Master had been dealt with, or if he would be treated like the traitor that Sasuke's brother seemed to think he was. Even as he moved around the room, grabbing whatever he could get his hands on. He could still hear Master's voice in his head. Naruto had no doubt that Master would complete whatever plans he had for Konoha, he just had to make sure that it didn't happen. Even if it meant his own death.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi's voice broke him out of his thoughts, looking up Naruto found Kakashi standing in the doorway.

"What does it look like?" Naruto asked "I'm leaving."

"Why?" Kakashi asked "you should know that it will only make you look guilty."

"Yes, well I'm willing to take that chance. After all you are one of the people that know that I'm innocent. I guess for now that's enough."

"Are you really innocent?" Kakashi asked "I've heard some things that have made me wonder."

"You've been listening to Itachi again haven't you?" Naruto wondered "he might as well hang me."

"If you stay you might be able to prove that you are innocent of what you are being accused of." Kakashi pointed out.

"Trust me when I say that my leaving is best for all concerned." Naruto muttered as he finished packing his things and moved around Kakashi.

"I will have no choice but to report you missing" Kakashi said "they will send hunter nin after you."

"So be it" Naruto muttered sighing, from the looks of things he might just spend the rest of his life on the run. That being said, Naruto disappeared out of the apartment and made his way towards the village gates. He couldn't exactly remember where Master's hideout was, but Naruto was determined he would find it and deal with Master before he could even approach Konoha. From there he would be running from Konoha Nin, because if Naruto done his job right no one would know that Naruto had left to protect Konoha.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Liz


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